Welcome back to another exciting episode-I mean chapter of 'Immortalized'! Glad you guys seem to be enjoying the story so far, and just because I've heard the question a few times now, Naruto will not be using the patented 'Talk no Jutsu' for every encounter he has. He's a ninja, he neutralizes his enemies. Anyways, onto the chapter!


Chapter 15

Loss


The Last Uzumaki stood in the office of his Hokage, once more listening to the briefing for what would be his latest, and hopefully last mission of the war between the combined forces of Kusa, Taki, and Oto, and the forces of Konoha. It had been a somewhat drawn out war, with the Leaf Nin having to fight and crawl for every inch of territory that they captured, every outpost they overtook. Things had been pushed along by the few heavy hitters that Konoha had out on the front line, namely that several Jounin that had fought their own fair share of battles, such as Sarutobi Asuma, the now sole survivor of the Sarutobi clan and former member of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi of the Daimyo.

Additionally, there was Konoha's Green Beast Maito Gai, who through his amazing Taijutsu had personally taken down enemy after enemy, and all while never losing his trademark grin and shouts of youth. There was also Yuhi Kurenai, who despite being quite young when she had attained her rank and specializing in Genjutsu, had assisted in taking her own fair share of enemy installations, more often than not providing superb support through her talents. But even these three talents Jounin's feats didn't hold a candle to the lone blonde in the room, who by anyone's account had done far more than his fair share for the war effort.

Any ninja you talked to, from the lowest Genin to the ANBU that operated in silence on the front themselves, would tell you that on some point they had shared a foxhole with the blue eyed man, or that they had witnessed him decimating the enemy through the use of his father's own modified Hiraishin technique, some would even claim that they had been there in the aftermath of an attack, watching as the man plowed through ninja after ninja, moving so fast that the blood of his fallen enemies never touched his clothing.

Then there were the stories about him, though he never spread them himself. People talked, and rumors spread, such as the one about him taking on and killing the Takigakure Jinchuriki in single combat, killing the woman in the process. There was also the rumors about him fighting the man who had been able to use his own bones as a weapon, again coming out on top. Naruto's exploits had built him into something of a legend within the Konoha ranks, very similar to what his father the Yondaime had been able to do when he had been fighting in the Third Shinobi World War. He wouldn't lie and say he didn't like the attention, there were definitely days where the hopeful eyes of the men and women under his command pushed him onward, spurring him to fight harder.

They had put their faith in the last member of the Uzumaki Clan, and he'd be damned if he let them down by allowing this war to go on any longer than it needed to. It was stupid really, the way he felt about it, wanting to and needing to try and prevent the most damage to his ninja, but as a commander in the Konoha Shinobi Forces, he felt it was his duty to do all he could to prevent any unnecessary suffering that his men could undertake. This, combined with his promise and shown attitude to never make anyone under his command do anything he wasn't willing to do himself had proven the trust and faith he had in them, and them in him, time and time again. He had become a symbol, a beacon to follow and an object to strive for and rally behind, just as his Hokage had planned for him.

For as lazy and apathetic as the masked man seemed to act, Hatake Kakashi had a truly brilliant tactical and strategic mindset, rivaling that of only the best members of the Nara clan, and with Nara Shikaku as one of his chief advisors on his War Council, there wasn't much the two hadn't planned for or planned around. Which is why when the two had called for an urgent meeting of certain high level Shinobi a mere few days after the confirmed surrender of Takigakure to Konohagakure, the Uzumaki had flashed into the office of his leader as soon as he was able, being tardy in this case was not an option, not when every second counted, especially this close to the end of the war.

Gathered in the room with the Blonde Jounin and the Hokage were several Jounin, all powerful in their own right, and all were patiently awaiting their own orders as they were briefed on the current situation by the Hokage himself and Nara Shikaku, as well as various members of Konoha's Intelligence Corps. The geopolitical situation was a positive one, generally. The Konoha forces had seeming forced the opposing Otogakure shinobi into their final corner, and both sides were gearing up for what would hopefully be the final battle of the war. There was to be a massive assault on the Oto encampment, and each of them would be playing a part in it.

While there was to be a mass movement against the main forced that would be led primarily by Asuma and Gai, both taking a large contingent of Shinobi and attacking on two separate fronts of the final Oto base, but this was only a diversion for the main forces of Sound Shinobi, so that the real strike team could move in behind the lines and strike at the head of the snake itself, Orochimaru. The team that would be moving towards this goal would consist of Naruto, and the Toad Sage Jiraiya, the two largest heavy hitters of the Leaf aside from the Hokage himself. If anyone was going to be able to kill the serpent, it was going to be one of them. Additionally, they'd be bringing also be bringing Tayuya, as she had firsthand knowledge of the basic layout of the Snake Sannin's bases, and may be able to help navigate them.

At least, that was the plan. And if all went well, then this time next week the war would be over, and Konohagakure could begin healing from this lengthy and hard process of combat and loss. Soon, but not before this final, definitive battle had taken place. As each member of the respective teams left to prepare for their coming fights, moving to gather everything they needed from weapons to cigarettes, one thought was constantly flowing through everyone's mind.

This was it.


Flashback- The Night Before

"You're sure you're ready to do this? This isn't something to take lightly. These people were you old comrades, maybe not your friends, but still-they know how yo-". Naruto was cut off as his redheaded girlfriend abruptly turned around from readying her gear, glaring at him with her dark chocolate eyes as she stood up, walking up to her lover and standing only a few inches from him, looking directly into his cobalt orbs as she spoke back in her typical boisterous manner.

"Shut the fuck up about it. If I wasn't ready or didn't want to fuckin' do it, I wouldn't have told the fuckin' Hokage that I could help out with it." The woman looked down a little bit, a few strands of her wayward red hair falling about her face as she reached forward and grabbed the blonde's hands, holding them softly in her own as he looked up at the taller man. "Besides, you'll be there and so will that perverted jackass of a Sage. I'm not fucking worried, alright?"

Naruto sighed softly, blinking his eyes closed for a moment, clearing his mind as he pulled himself out of his worried stupor. "Alright, alright. I trust you, but if you're going in there with us, you're going to want this." The blonde pulled away from her, walking away and to the side of his bed, reaching under it and pulling out a small, wooden box, handing it to the redhead who wasted no time in opening it. In her hand, she held a small black flute, not too dissimilar from her old one, save for the color and the small Uzumaki crest that was adorned near the top, in a light red, the same shade as her hair.

She hid it well, but Tayuya was honestly touched by the gesture. This was Naruto's way of not only acknowledging her as a kunoichi by giving her the combat flute and dropping the subject of her joining him, but he was also telling her that she was a part of his family, if the crest of his kin was anything to go by. As she rolled it over in her hands, taking in every detail of the obsidian instrument, she was nearly startled by the rough, lightly tanned ones of her lover covering her own.

As she looked up into his eyes, the redhead could visibly see the concern in his eyes as he spoke. "When we're in there, if it looks bad, you run. I go down, Jiraiya goes down, you run, understand?" Tayuya moved her lips to speak, to protest, to do anything, really, but the blonde stopped her by squeezing her hands gently, both partners gazing deep into each other's eyes, blue meeting brown. "You run." The redhead nodded, and the grip on her hands lessened as he held her. The next day wasn't going to be easy on anyone, but Naruto would be able to rest in confidence knowing she would leave if and when it got rough.

The Blonde Jounin honestly didn't know what he would do without his Love, sometimes it felt that she was the only thing in this crazy world that was keeping him sane.

End Flashback- The Night Before


The blonde shinobi cleared his mind from his thought of the night prior when the sounds of combat reached his ears. Inclining his head slightly he could hear it, the distinct sounds of battle could be heard, coming from two separate directions. The former captain smirked, everything so far was going according to plan. Stepping forward from the foliage he had been concealed in and dropping his "Meisaigakure no Jutsu (Hiding with Camouflage Technique)" he looked briefly to his left and right, watching as the Toad Sage and inventor of the jutsu he had just used stepped out of the shadows on his left, the woman he loved moving dropping down from the trees above to stand at his right side.

Confirming that all three were set to move, Tayuya took the lead, channeling chakra to her legs as they bounded through the last throes of the forestry, quickly coming upon the walled compound from the Southeast, and one of the few directions that wasn't currently being attacked in the multipronged assault on Otogakure from Konoha. The three hit the wall of the village, pressing their backs to it and waiting briefly as Naruto and Jiraiya set a quick penetration seal to work on it. Moments later, there was a small, yet distinct thud as a tiny portion of the wall was cut and blown inwards, the chakra restrictive material crumbling under the power of the sealing matrix made by the two adept Fuuinjutsu users. There was a brief moment of silence, and then the three members were inside the compound moving rapidly, once again with the redheaded kunoichi leading the way.

They hadn't been moving for very long inside the area, though Tayuya insisted that they were getting close, before things started to go awry. As the three ducked and spun around one of the many corners in the complex, several things happened very suddenly. The blonde of the group was only just able to call out a warning as a large wall of pink crystal shot down the alleyway they were in, directly at neck level and clearly intent on decapitating the members of the group, had they all not dodged the attack.

Naruto grabbed his blood haired lover, flashing to the Hiraishin seal he had placed on Jiraiya as the man had jumped, all three landing on the top of the nearest building, facing down their opponents as they appeared, one by one on the opposing roof, each one glaring, and except of one member, dressed very similarly. The blonde glanced over to his girlfriend quickly, not missing her clenching her hands tightly, and gritting her teeth as she looked over her opponents. He didn't miss her growling under her breath either, the words coming out in no small amount of anger. "…The Sound Four…"

The blonde looked over at Jiraiya, the large broad shouldered man standing slightly to his left, making eye contact and nodding before both of them shot off towards the enemies, Naruto making a small mass of clones as he did so. Four of Naruto's clones rushed off in separate directions, each on grabbing ahold of a small scroll that the original threw to them as they moved, already flashing through a set of seals as they moved. He glanced over to the team of enemies, watching briefly as Jiraiya and a small number of clones engaged them, before he turned on his heel and threw one of his special Hiraishin Kunai out of the area that was going to be fought in, watching with satisfaction as it impacted on the wall of a far building, before he felt four simultaneous pulses of chakra from his clones, flashing his hands through his own set of brief seals, smashing both of them into the ground.

"Bariashīringu Gijutsu: Kogetsuki-kō no Mekakushi Dōmu! (Barrier Sealing Technique: Blinding Dome of Scorching Light!)". Before anyone inside the immediate area was able to move, enormous strings of kanji shot out in four directions from Naruto's palm, cascading out towards the four clones he had sent out earlier, each one dispelling as the scrolls they had been conducting their chakra burned to ash, a large dome of bright white light growing around them all, starting at the ground and moving up, forming into a large dome, trapping all inside. The blonde shinobi stood up, flashing to Jiraiya, grabbing ahold of him and flashing to the kunai he had thrown earlier, outside of the barrier, turning to face the older man.

"Go, get the Snake before he leaves the area, the jackass is probably already preparing to escape. Tayuya and I can handle these guys." Before the Toad Sage could respond, Naruto had flashed back inside the barrier, to the seal he had placed on Tayuya, appearing next to her and staring down the four members of Orochimaru's personal guard, his eyes narrowing. Outside, Jiraiya had merely shrugged, his Godson was strong, if he said he could handle this, then he would have to trust him, and the younger blonde was right, his old teammate was probably already trying to escape, and if they didn't get him now, then it might be years before they had him cornered. With those final thoughts, the perverted Sannin took off, leaving the large white barrier behind him.


Inside the barrier, the air was tense, so much so a rusty butter knife could have shredded it with ease. On one side of the barrier stood the forces of Konoha, a young blonde man, an ornate katana slung across his back, dressed in simple back loose fitting pants with a kunai pouch on his right thigh, that were taped up around his ankles, his feet clad in a pair of unassuming combat sandals. He wore a tight, form fitting sleeveless green shirt that had a crest displayed proudly on the back, a dark red swirl. On each hand, there was a pair of dark gray fingerless gloves, and there were many scars upon his arms. His eyes were a steely blue, while his hair was a dull yellow, his long locks tied into a loose ponytail at the base of his neck, his bangs framing his angular face, his baby fat having left him long ago. There was a standard black Hitai-Ite tied tightly around his waist, the leaf insignia falling slightly over the long, tattered blue scarf that served as a sash, fluttering in the wind.

To his side stood a woman, the blondes only ally in the dome, and soon to be kill zone. The wore the now standardized black combat sandals, choosing to keep her feet bare, leaving only a small amount of bandages wrapping her ankles for a small amount of support. Moving up past her long slender legs was a pair of short, and tight black spandex shorts, with a brown combat skirt that had a slit up the center over it, stopping at her mid-thigh over it. The skirt was held up by a thin combat styled black belt that had been custom made, and contained a special sheathe for her combat flute, in addition to the normal pouches for her shuriken and kunai. Her upper body was clothed in a black compression shirt on underneath a gray, slightly looser fitting shirt, the sleeves stopping just under her elbows. Her hair was held back by the Konoha Hitai-Ite that she proudly wore on her forehead, a small tuft of hair falling down between her eyes, the rest of her gorgeous red hair falling around behind her on her shoulders.

Across from them, glaring at the invaders, were the Sound Four. All but one of them were dressed similarly, their attire being a black shirt under a tan tunic with elbow-length sleeves. The tunic itself bore the symbol of the Sound Four and Oto on the hem, with their legs being clad in black skin-tight shorts. All of them wore black arm-warmers, as well as traditional black shinobi sandals with calf-length leg warmers covered by bandages, and each member wore a purple, rope-like belt tied in an inverted bow around their waist. The one member who hadn't adhered to the standard, had traded her tunic for a battle kimono, green in nature, a flower adorning the side.

The forces of Sound and Leaf faced off against one another, no words needing to be passed in their standoff. Each was here to prevent the other from completing their objective, and while the Oto shinobi had a clear numbers advantage at the moment, it was unknown as to which party would be leaving the battlefield to fight another day. The blonde man looked to his counterpart, worried for her, but based on a purely mental state. Fighting one's kin was never easy, and though Tayuya had insisted upon being the one to fight her sister, Naruto was still concerned. Nodding his head slightly, the blonde shot forward, splitting the group on enemy shinobi in two, forcing the three men of the enemy force away and to the left, the lone female of the previous Sound Four allowing him to do so, seemingly not even caring as he and his clones forced his enemies some distance away from the two women.

Guren smirked as the blonde sped past her, throwing his enemies away from the two of them, before she returned her attention to her younger sister, addressing her condescendingly. "So… look who came all the way back to Otogakure. Was it just to see little old me?" Tayuya smirked, he fingers twitching once before her flute seemed to fly into her hands and up to her lips as she began to play her melody, the tune flowing from the end of the obsidian plated instrument softly and melodiously.

A Symphony of Death.


Naruto stood across from the three members of Orochimaru's personal guard, staring each one of them down, personally. Moving his cold, cobalt eyes from one to the other, his eyes narrowing more and more as he quickly ran through all the data he had on them, knowing he could trust it as it had come from Tayuya herself. He trusted her with his life, mind body and soul, so he inhaled, and exhaled, watching as the three men prepared themselves for the coming fight, determined to do whatever he could to keep them from his girlfriend. She would beat Guren. She had to.

The blonde settled his gaze on the largest of the three, the man named he knew to be named Jirōbō. According to Tayuya, he was the physically strongest member of the Sound Four but the weakest overall in terms of combat prowess. The man was a strong user of Doton Jutsu (Earth Release), and his cursed seal would increase his strength dramatically. Additionally, the man could absorb chakra through physical contact with his target, so he made a quick mental not to avoid Taijutsu with this one lest he wanted to end up a used and empty battery.

Shifting his eyes right, he landed on the form of Kidōmaru, an odd looking thin man who had a total of eight appendages, six of them being arms. Though it was reported that he was quite the intelligent fighter, it had also been confirmed by Tayuya that the man used some form of 'spider-like' Ninjutsu, and the ability to make spider webs by infusing his spit or sweat with chakra. Kidōmaru could use these webs to bind, trap, or sense enemies, and furthermore these threads were extremely sticky, yet durable and elastic, unable to be cut by normal blades. His cursed seal made his attacks more potent, and the webbing stronger, and he could apparently 'see' chakra in the level two mode.

And finally the blondes eyes settled on the final form of Sakon, the man's codependent twin Ukon still in hiding on his body, somewhere. These two were supposed to be the fastest and strongest member of the Sound Four, though his redhead had noted that Sakon liked to prolong the fight by toying with the opponent and using unnecessarily powerful techniques to show off. The Twins were supposedly very skilled in Taijutsu and possessed incredibly quick reflexes, and when they had activated the second level of their cursed seal, they were able to physically merge with an opponent's body, deconstructing them at a molecular level before leaving and reconstructing their own bodies.

All in all, this didn't bode well for him. For all he knew their abilities could have changed over the last couple years that Tayuya had been in the Leaf. And even if they hadn't, because of their abilities and curse seals alone they were all at least Jounin level, if not slightly higher. But, Naruto knew himself, and he knew his abilities, and he was confident in both of them to a fault. Plus, he wanted to hurry this up so he could get back to Tayuya and help her finish her own fight. He still didn't approve of the woman fighting her sister all on her own, but he trusted her, and if she said that it was something that she could handle, then it was something that he would trust her on. She had never let him down before, and he didn't expect her to now.

"Well, let's get started, shall we?" And with those simple words he was off, shooting across the rooftop towards the three men in a burst of speed, appearing before Kidōmaru and delivering a spinning kick to the man's chest, launching the unprepared spider-man (spidah-man!) away from him, before he planted both feet firmly on the ground and launched himself into the air by exploding his chakra from his feet outwards, as if he had messed up the tree climbing technique. One at the apex of his leap, Naruto quickly began spinning, multiple tri-pronged kunai now littering the area, allowing the man to flash in between them at will, an advantage he would put into great effect during the coming conflict.

However, it wasn't as if the four members of the Sound Four were just standing idly by, Ukon had already separated from Sakon, and was no somewhere in the area, having merged with one of the buildings, looking for an opening on their blonde opponent. Kidōmaru had also sprang into action, producing his tried and true primary weapon, his bow and created multiple arrows to go with it after recovering from the blonde's surprise attack, and Jirōbō, being nothing but a Taijutsu specialist with only a few basic Ninjutsu to compliment his own unique style, had settled into a stance, and was attempting to follow Naruto's movements with his eyes.

The blonde shinobi had already begun flashing around the kunai he had placed, watching in mild curiosity as the large Jirōbō continuously turned, attempting to follow his rapid movements, but finding himself unable to. However, the other two didn't seem to be concerned with him at all, both just watching his few movements so far as both teams evaluated each other, before Naruto made his decision. Jirōbō was clearly the weakest of the three, from all the Intel he had and from what he had seen, so the large man would be eliminated first. The blonde man was in his full 'ANBU' mindset, nothing mattered but himself, his objective, and the enemy.

He knew himself, inside and out, there was nothing to be concerned with there. His objective was simple, neutralize the enemy and return to Tayuya as quickly as possible. His enemy was in sight, and the trigger had been pulled. Naruto flashed into existence in front of Jirōbō, two clones appearing on either side of the man, catching him in a trifecta of blonde shinobi, all three of them calling out the names of their attack in unison, fully intent on killing the man in a single hit. "Fūton: Senpūken! (Wind Release: Whirlwind Fist!)".

Three fists clad completely in the volatile nature that is wind chakra impacted the large frame of Jirōbō in three separate places, one striking his back left shoulder blade, another finding his right side just above his kidney, the third and final one impacting him just below where his heart would be. The fists pierced the man's body, each one easily drilling inside of him as his face contorted in pain. After the hands came to a halt inside of him though, is where things got worse, as the small typhoons that were around each fist dispersed, spinning the man on the outside, and obliterating his insides as well. The original Naruto had already flashed away, his clones dispersing, before he was forced on the defensive, now dodging and blocking the rapid arrows coming from Kidōmaru, his trusted sword falling into his grasp as he briefly backpedaled.

Sakon, Ukon, and Kidōmaru had wasted no time in activating the first level of their curse seals after seeing what had happened to the slow reacting Jirōbō, they didn't even know if he had somehow survived the blonde's brutal assault, and if they weren't careful, they would be cannon fodder as well. So Kidōmaru had quickly summoned his bow, the black lines of his cursed seal of heaven passing across his body, and began firing off the arrows he created, his own special spider-like Ninjutsu automatically attaching strings to the back of every arrow, his web already forming over the blondes own map of kunai.

Ukon was still unaccounted for, though the others had felt the spike from his chakra as he activated his own cursed seal, still moving about seemingly undetected, under the surface of the buildings as his brother Sakon was desperately dodging the attacks of the lone Leaf Nin, his amazing reflexes that he had honed over the years keeping him alive, if only just. The man was only taking minor cuts, having deftly moved out of the way of a couple Rasengan's, but unable to dodge a couple of his faster kunai strikes. Naruto seemed to be tilting of this, though and had apparently decided on taking him out first, favoring him over his long range fighting compatriot. Beginning to flash through seals mid flash, Naruto appeared a few yards in front of the man, having finished his seals and letting out a large burst of flame with completion of his jutsu.

"Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku! (Fire Release: Majestic Destroying Flame!)", as he said it, the blonde leaned back, before thrusting his head forward and blowing the white hot fire from his mouth, his hands already flowing through the seals for a follow up jutsu to compliment the one screaming down at Sakon, never noticing Ukon appearing next to him through the blaze as he called out his second technique. "Futon: Diatoppa! (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!)", the huge gale of wind leaving his lips in the same breath, complimenting and enlarging the blaze he had already sent towards the men. Naruto quickly began his tried and true evasion method of flashing around, beginning to look for the form of Kidōmaru, the arachnid like man having relocated during his spread of Ninjutsu.

"Kuchiyose: Rashōmon! (Summoning Jutsu: Rashōmon!)" The blonde Jounin of Konoha was caught off guard at the sound of not one, but two voices calling out the name of the technique, and his head whipped around over his shoulder, now able to see the large demonic gate that had blocked his attack against the twin brother, both of them standing firm behind it as Ukon merged with Sakon. Then, from the man's body emerged an additional arm and leg, giving the man additional limbs, making the blonde sigh softly to himself, that would certainly make Taijutsu more difficult, if it came to that.

Before he was able to lament on it though, he was forced to quickly bend over backwards, falling back and catching himself in a bridge as several arrows passed over his head, impacting on the now vanishing gate. As the blonde flashed himself to one of his kunai, he noticed something as he turned to face the approaching Sakon/Ukon. His flashpoints were vanishing, he could no longer feel them like he normally could. Usually, he could feel them, in the back of his mind, and upon focusing on one of them, he could pick up its immediate surroundings and flash himself to it in his usual spark of blue.

But now, he was feeling less and less of his flashpoints, almost as if the seals themselves were being neutralized. This wasn't good, it was limiting him quite severely in his evasive maneuvers, and he'd now be forced to rely on pure speed unless he could figure out how his seals were being destroyed or in the very least, neutralized, since he could clearly still see his kunai lying around the battlefield, and that's when he saw it. There were small, almost unperceivable arrows sticking out of the base of every one of his kunai, the seals disabled as the arrows had cut the handle of each one in half, destroying the space/time Fuuinjutsu seal his father had created.

Cursing lightly as one of the second stage Sakon/Ukon attacks nailed his arm and forced him back, Naruto flashed to one of his last remaining kunai, he needed to find out where Kidōmaru had vanished to, and stop him before he ran out of tricks. As his sixth sense screamed at him, the blonde vanished in a flash of blue, reappearing at the kunai he had thrown just then into the wall, glancing over his shoulder as he flipped around, noticing for the first time that the large man he had thought he killed was very much alive, and very much pissed off, if the scowl over his black body was anything to go by.

Naruto began to speed around the battlefield, now only relying on his speed, which though it was great was still nothing compared to the Hiraishin. He needed to find out where the fucking spider guy had gotten to, so he could deal with him and begin working on killing his other two opponents. He shifted his gaze back to the now towering Jirōbō, and had he not been in a life or death scenario, he would have been impressed. The man had not one, not two, but three very large and visible holes decorating his body, and though he was in his second stage of his cursed seal, he was still gunning for blood, though it seemed he was little more than a berserker now, even his own teammates were trying to steer clear of the rampaging man.

However, as the blonde shinobi had become quite aware from his many years as a shinobi, when an enemy went into a berserker rage they were easy and simple to take down, all one had to do was dodge their attacks, and out think them, be it a seal or sometimes just plain old brute force, the latter of which he was quite good at. Naruto ducked underneath the man's insanely large arm as he swung at him, the blonde spinning around behind him as they stood briefly, back to back. The enraged and strong Jirōbō turned slowly, his bulk compromising his strength, and by the time he had turned fully to face his enemy, there were three blondes facing him, each rushing through hand seals as they called out their techniques.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!)" "Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku! (Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!) "Katon: Hiendan! (Fire Release: Soaring Flame Bullets!)". The three flame attacks blasted out of each clones mouth, striking the hulk of the man dead on, him too slow to dodge at such a close range. The flames burned what remained of his clothes off entirely, leaving the man as naked as the day he was born, but it wasn't to last as hi charred and nearly destroyed body was annihilated further by the original Naruto, himself appearing via a quick substitution with a roof tile behind the man driving both of his hands as hard as he could into the man's back, the large blue glowing balls of energy in his hands impacting directly on Jirōbō's shoulder blades.

"Chōōdama Rasengan!" Both balls of energy were rotating different directions, the one in his left moving outboard and the energy in his right doing the same. Their effect was instantaneous. While not only drilling into the man, the opposing forces had spun against each other, with the berserker caught in the middle, before he was torn in half, a jagged split straight up the middle of the man's body, before both halves of the man were launched in different directions by the younger Blonde's destructive jutsu. Naruto grinned to himself, it had been costly, but worth it, he noted as he looked down at the two chakra laced arrow that had pierced his body, one in his thigh, another in his bicep.

As he began dodging the myriad of attacks facing his way again he was able to finally pinpoint the lone spiderlike man's location, Kidōmaru having been constantly moving alongside the other buildings that littered the area. After dodging yet another three limbed attack that came from the thing that had become Sakon/Ukon in their second stage released form, Naruto spun and threw a kunai with all his strength at the currently wall running Kidōmaru, who had also released his second state curse seal, and began drawing his bow back for another shot, the man's third eye easily helping him hone in on it, before he released and split the knife in half, destroying it.

What he missed though, was the second kunai traveling in the shadow of the first that was closing fast with him, too fast for him to nock and fire another shot. Mentally cursing himself, he wasn't prepared for what happened next. Naruto appeared in front of the man, and using the forward momentum of his throw, planted a double footed kick into the man's sternum, before he reached into the small crater he had created, grabbing the man by the robe he wore as a belt, throwing him high into the air, a kunai following him immediately after. When Kidōmaru reached the apex of his arc as was just beginning to recover from the kick, the blonde shinobi appeared again, repeating the process and launching him even higher, before he repeated the process not once, but three more times, bring both men to within just a few meters of the very top of the barrier.

Once the final throw had happened, Naruto kicked off of Kidōmaru, launching himself at the barrier and then rotated his body midflight so his feet would impact first. Channeling chakra to his feet, the blonde stood briefly on the top zenith of the dome he had created, watching at the stunned spider-esque man flew up to within a mere foot of him, before the Leaf Nin grinned maliciously, before he flashed to the seal he had placed on the man's back, imitating him and for all purposes being his shadow, whispering in a barely concealed voice as he did so. "Kage Buyō. (Shadow of the Dancing Leaf.)".

As Naruto forced open the first of the Eight Inner Gates, he felt the immense rush of power that comes with it, before mentally chastising himself, and reminding himself to shut it back down after this move. He raised his arms slightly out to the sides, ninja wire seemingly flowing from his fingertips as it wrapped out the stunned form of Kidōmaru, restraining him before he was pulled close to the blonde, their heads rotating towards the ground, the two of them picking up speed exponentially as they dropped, spinning counterclockwise so fast it was even threatening to make the blonde sick as he screamed the name of the pile driving technique. "Omote Renge! (Primary Lotus!)".

The explosion from their impact upon the ground was enormous. The two had first impacted the roof of a building, but due to the destructive nature of the technique itself, and then adding on the immense altitude that the duo had been at before Naruto initiated the move, and the destructive force of it was absolutely astounding, and Kidōmaru had taken every ounce of it, bar none. The blonde shinobi jumped from the rather large crater he had been in, looking down one last time at the mangled and broken body of the spider shinobi, taking in every mangled limb, every bone out of place, all of it, before turning away and moving back towards where he could sense Sakon/Udon at, his unrefined chakra pulses acting as his guiding moonlight to take him there.

The blonde grimaced, he had once been just like the Oto shinobi were, bloodthirsty and angered, ready to exact whatever vengeance he deemed necessary on his enemies for his losses. This had, of course, bee directly after the death of Konohamaru mainly, but the deaths of Moegi, Udon, and their sensei, Ebisu hadn't helped either, and for the first several missions during the war, Naruto had been a pure, unadulterated menace to anyone he came across that bore the Hitai-Ite of an enemy. It had only been after several long talks with both Jiraiya and Tayuya that he had been pulled from his anger, able to return to his normal self. It hadn't been easy, but he had done it.

The blonde had only just come into contact with Sakon/Udon, throwing several kunai around the man and beginning to flash to them, when he heard the scream. Flashing a safe distance away from the Oto Shinobi, Naruto turned his head over his shoulder, and in seemingly slow motion, his bangs brushing across his face, his eyes widening in horror, his blood running cold, the blondes body tensed, his heart feeling as though he had taken one of Kakashi's Raikiri's straight through it. At the opposite end of the barrier was a kneeling Tayuya, with her older sister Guren kneeling in front of the redhead, only mere inches away. It wasn't that sight which caused the blonde to scream out her name in anguish, tears already forming in the corners of his eyes.

It was the sight of Guren's crystal enshrouded hand, puncturing through the redhead's right breast, through her still-beating heart, and out of her back, blood soaking it clean through.


Flashback- During Naruto's Battle with Sakon, Ukon, Jirōbō, and Kidōmaru

So… look who came all the way back to Otogakure. Was it just to see little old me?" Tayuya smirked, he fingers twitching once before her flute seemed to fly into her hands and up to her lips as she began to play her melody, the tune flowing from the end of the obsidian plated instrument softly and melodiously. It was of course, laden with Genjutsu, that was what the redhead had been known for during her time in Otogakure, and as part of the Sound Four, but she'd soon change that. Tayuya had been training, and in the eyes of many she had significantly improved in many areas of the Ninja Arts, though her Genjutsu was still her strongest aspect.

This battle was more than just a distraction, or holding back the enemies reinforcements while Jiraiya dealt with the Snake Sannin, this was a conflict of willpower and differing ideologies. Her sister Guren, had always been the prodigal daughter, inheriting their families Kekkie Genkai and honing her combat abilities, and even when they had first joined up with Oto, Guren had quickly become one of the top competitors, and when she was chosen as Orochimaru's newest host there had been no pulling the woman down from the pedestal she had placed herself upon, until she had found out that because of her body being damaged by her life-force sucking chakra enhancement technique she was no longer a suitable subject.

But she was getting ahead of herself. In the beginning, it had only been Guren and Her, two sisters on the road, living off of what they could. She couldn't quite remember why they had left their parents, just that the two girls had, and that Guren had decided that they needed to. Tayuya had idolized her older sister then, thinking she could do no wrong. And how could she have been wrong? Her sister did everything for her, fed her, clothed her, comforted her, Guren had taken care of the little redhead for years. She had even been the one to buy Tayuya her first flute, the young girl taking to it immediately.

It hadn't been long after that that they had been approached by Orochimaru himself. He had offered to take them in, and Guren, after seeing a small demonstration of the man's power, had followed after him. Tayuya refused to let her older sister leave her, so she had gone as well. Had she known what would follow, she would have done anything but. But one can't go back and undo the past, so now she was dealing with the consequences. Things had been alright in Oto, for a short time. Both girls, being so young, had been doted on by some of the older shinobi, and they were looked after. Then the two girls began to grow apart. Guren began training with her crystal release Kekkie Genkai, while Tayuya had begun training in Genjutsu. After the girls turned twelve though, things got bad.

First, Tayuya had been branded with the Cursed Seal of Heaven, and she had barely lived through the ordeal. She had begged her sister to help her leave after that, but she had almost refused to even see her recovering sister, only visiting her once and even then, calling her weak. Things had gotten progressively worse after that, Tayuya had been incredibly weak for several weeks after her run with the curse mark, and during that time, after a few men had found out about this, they had taken advantage of her, again and again. Several men had done things to her, horrible, disgusting things that would make even the lowest of the low sick, but they still happened.

There had been one instance where Guren had even caught two men in the act of raping her, Tayuya still so weakened from the recent seal placed upon her she could do little more than scream, and after the two women had made eye contact, Tayuya's chocolate orbs begging for help through her tears, Guren had muttered the word 'weak', before walking on, leaving her. Tayuya had resented her sister for so long after that, more or less forsaking her to Orochimaru. She no longer cared. All she wanted was out of Oto. And then, just like that, her chance had been granted, not exactly like she had imagined, but still. She may have woken up in a Konoha prison cell, but even there she was still treated with the basic respect of humanity. Once she had joined Konoha and befriended the blonde she'd one day come to love, the rest was history.

It was because of him, that Tayuya had been able to grow as a person. Because of him, the redhead had been able to look beyond her hatred for her sister and forgive her for the purplette's transgressions against her, though she would never, ever forget. Naruto had been happy for her, genuinely happy for the redhead when she had told him that she had finally let go, and he had let her cry happily upon his shoulder as she did so. It was because of the blonde that so many things in her life had changed. Her village, her outfit, hell, even her skillset had changed under the blonde Jounin's recommendation. She'd branched out from her Genjutsu, discovering her chakra nature as Suiton, and in the few years she'd been in Konoha, she'd learnt a lot.

It was during her fight that she had shown who she was, battling her older sister breaking technique after technique, throwing jutsu after jutsu at each other, until finally, Guren knelt at her feet, barely able to stand, her kimono in tatters, her hair strewn haphazardly around her face, cuts and bruises littering her body as the woman hung her head low. Tayuya had stood in front of her for what seemed like hours, until she had finally spoke. "Guren…" She began slowly, almost timidly, before her resolve strengthened and she nearly shouted. "Guren look at me!"

"What do you want from me?" The violet haired woman asked, her tear stained eyes staring into the brown unmarred ones of her sister. Tayuya dropped to one knee, and then the other, the two sisters and kunoichi of different villages staring each other in the face for what was truly the first time in years. Tayuya spoke softly, this time, her voice only just above a whisper.

"I want you to know, in your final moments, that I forgive you… for everything. No matter what you did to me before, or didn't do, you'll always be my sister, Guren." Tayuya leaned in and hugged her sister for the first time in nearly a decade, holding back her own tears. She wasn't going to lie, the redhead hoped sincerely that there was some part of her sister still alive inside of the purplette that would come to her senses and leave with them, back to Konoha. She knew that Naruto would be able to find a place for her there, the blonde had a way with wor-.

Tayuya's thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of a pinch on her left breast, the breath in her throat catching in her lungs, as she slowly let go of her sister and looked down, Guren's crystal covered hand protruding from her chest, and though she couldn't turn her head anymore for some reason, she felt it sticking out of her back as well. There was a scream, it sounded almost like her name, but who was calling? She recognized the voice… but the redhead couldn't place it. She was just tired, so very tired… and wasn't she supposed to be in pain? Nothing hurt at all, she didn't feel good, but she wasn't hurting, either.

There was suddenly a face in front of her, who was that? Oh right, Naruto…her Shithead. She loved him so much, especially his blue eyes…they were so pretty. Did she tell him how much she loved her? She needed to do that, he needed to know that…


Jiraiya jumped down to area he could only assume was the battlefield, before swiftly running across it towards the only live chakra signature in the area, stopping as he neared it, still clutching what remained of his left arm, mouth agape at the sight that was before him on the ground. To one side laid a woman, her body so brutalized it would have been impossible to recognize her. There were cuts and slices, broken bones all over her, the woman had been broken again and again until there was nothing left of her. To his right, the Toad Sage noted that there was another figure, a man he assumed.

The second body was in no better shape than that of the girl, its head having been severed along with two of its limbs, and that was just the beginning of it. Jiraiya tore his gaze from it to look at the sight in front of him, Naruto, covered in blood and earth from head to toe, his eyes puff and cheeks stained from his tears, kneeling in the mud, his sword next to him, shoulders slumped in utter defeat, even though all his enemies laid dead before him, and though the war had been ended with the death of Orochimaru at the hands of Jiraiya.

In Naruto's hands was the lifeless body of Tayuya.


Author's Note:

This chapter sucks. I'm sorry, I'm just… ouch. I'm not crying, you're crying.